Climatide

Call it global weirding. Call it extreme weather. Call it whatever you like, 2011 has been a record-setting weather year. So far, the U.S. alone has experienced 12 billion-dollar natural disasters, and there are still 24 days to go. Here’s the official rundown, courtesy of NOAA:

Groundhog Day blizzard » January 29-February 3, 2011

Midwest/Southeast tornadoes » April 4-5, 2011

Southeast/Midwest tornadoes » April 8-11, 2011

Midwest/Southeast tornadoes » April 14-16, 2011

Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest tornadoes » April 25-28, 2011

Midwest/Southeast tornadoes » May 22-27, 2011

Midwest/Southeast tornadoes and severe weather » June 18-22, 2011

Southern Plains/Southwest drought and heatwave » Spring-Fall, 2011

Mississippi River flooding » Spring-Summer, 2011

Upper Midwest flooding » Summer 2011

Hurricane Irene » August 20-29, 2011

Texas, New Mexico, Arizona wildfires » Spring-Fall 201

As it currently stands, the total toll of these twelve events is more than $54 billion in economic losses and 639 human lives lost. And, as a recent study highlighted, these figures usually don’t include the mental and physical health costs of natural disasters.

NOAA has launched an entire website dedicated to the weird, costly, and deadly weather of 2011. In an introductory statement, Jack Hayes, director of the National Weather Service, emphasized the fact that extreme weather happens every year, but seldom do we get so many events of so many different types that are so extreme.

You know, in my weather career spanning four decades, I’ve never seen a year quite like 2011. Sure, we’ve had years with extreme flooding, extreme hurricanes, extreme winter snowstorms, and even extreme tornado outbreaks. But I can’t remember a year like this in which we experienced record-breaking extremes of nearly every conceivable type of weather.